Your most "fun" lens?

[Dan Fleming]

I only own two lenses, but my Sigma 150mm Macro takes the cake, and probably would even if I had more lenses. At about the same price as Canon's 100 2.8 (non-L) it gives better background blur, further minimum focusing distance, and the same apeture. I love it, it hardly ever leaves my camera.

[George Slusher]

I only own two lenses, but my Sigma 150mm Macro takes the cake, and probably would even if I had more lenses. At about the same price as Canon's 100 2.8 (non-L) it gives better background blur, further minimum focusing distance, and the same apeture. I love it, it hardly ever leaves my camera.
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Good choice!


In case some folks aren't familiar with what leads to "blurring," note that the 150mm lens gives the same depth of field as the 100mm lens for the same framing/image size, aperture and subject-background separation (as long as you're not close to the hyperfocal distance). In order to get the same framing, you'll have to be 1.5x as far from the subject with the 150mm as with the 100mm. Here are some figures from DOFmaster:


100mm @ 4 ft, f/2.8: 3.98-4.02 ft, DOF 0.05 ft (hyperfocal distance 611 ft)


150mm @ 6ft, f/2.8: 5.98-6.02 ft, DOF 0.05 ft (hyperfocal distance 1374 ft)


Thus, a particular feature in the background will be identically "blurred" with both lenses.


There are differences, however, that make it look like the longer lens has "better" background blur. Bryan explains this very well with examples in his review of the Canon 180mm f/3.5L Macro lens. The longer focal-length lens has a narrower angle of view, which means that less of the background shows and, conversely, each bit of the background is magnified, which makes it look more blurred.


I've seen this, myself, with my two macro lenses--Canon 100mm f/2.8 USM &amp; Sigma 180mm f/3.5 EX DG APO (whatever all those mean!). The major advantage of the 180mm lens to me is the greater "working distance." The practical disadvantages are the weight (35 oz vs 21 oz), bulk (7.2" long vs 4.7") and difficulty in keeping it still. I need to use a monopod or tripod for macro shots with the 180mm much more often than with the 100mm. Of course, some sort of steady support is a good idea with ANY macro photography, but carrying and setting up a tripod in the field can be a real PITA. The good thing is that the 180mm lens works better with a monopod, in part because it has a collar.